M-DCPS TO PILOT NEW TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM

MIAMI – The work of teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools will be evaluated through a new system that goes beyond once-a-year formal visits by the principal to their classrooms to include the success that their students exhibit in reaching academic goals, parents’ views, and a record of documents demonstrating their work throughout the year.
 
Developed in collaboration with the United Teachers of Dade and approved by the School Board Wednesday, the new system, called the Instructional Performance Evaluation and Growth System or IPEGS, will be implemented as a pilot in 30 schools beginning in August. Following successful implementation of the system, teachers throughout the District may be evaluated using IPEGS in coming years.
 
IPEGS replaces an evaluation system that relied almost exclusively on an annual principal observation.  Teachers and administrators raised concerns about the value of such a snapshot approach -- a view supported by research on adult learning.
 
The new system has a goal not only of assessing teachers’ performance, but also of spurring their professional growth to address areas of weakness in their instructional practice. Performance of teachers is judged on eight standards – knowledge of learners, instructional planning, instructional delivery and engagement, assessment, learner progress, communication, professionalism, and learning environment.  Student services personnel and instructional support personnel will be evaluated by seven performance standards specific to their job responsibilities.

Under IPEGS, educators will set goals for learners and programs at the beginning of the year.  This process will allow them to build on strengths, address weaknesses, and document gains at the end of the year.  Documentation logs will be used to support demonstration of the performance standards.  The evaluation also includes classroom observations, as before, and parental input collected through surveys.

A five-level scale from exemplary to unsatisfactory will be applied to each standard. The previous system had only a two point rating system – satisfactory and unsatisfactory.  That limited rating system, combined with a lack of any supporting information, made accurate, well-rounded evaluations of instructors very difficult.  IPEGS offers a balanced approach that empowers educators while evaluating their performance.

IPEGS was created by three design teams made up of teachers, principals, United Teachers of Dade members, guidance counselors, instructional coaches, library media specialists and school psychologists and social workers.  Each team addressed a specific area of concentration such as classroom teachers, student services and instructional support personnel.

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06-LJG/237/DF

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